Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a container for a drying system, in which an adsorption medium is provided for a gas to be dried.
In producing gas pressure, the moisture content of the gas often assumes an important role for downstream gas consumers. Amongst other things, the quality of the gas therefore depends on being able to produce a desired residual moisture content reliably. In order to do this, a known approach in drying systems is to use an adsorption medium, which adsorbs the moisture contained in the gas. The dry proportions of gas pass through the adsorption medium, which might be provided in the form of a granulate, for example. This being the case, suitable adsorption media might be silica gel or silica gels, aluminium oxide, molecular screens, active carbons or others, the drying medium becomes saturated and is then re-generated during a regeneration cycle. After a certain number of adsorption and regeneration cycles, the drying medium becomes so degraded that it has to be changed. A drying system of this type is described along with other dryers in a brochure published by Ultrafilter GmbH, Bussingstra.beta.e 1, D-42781 Haan, entitled "Trockene Druckluft. Mit Sicherheit ein reiner Gewinn" (Dry Pressurized Air, Surely An Advantage), brochure reference T997.004.03D 10.95.
In order to ensure that the gas contains a defined residual moisture, in particular a maximum residual moisture, one particularly important factor apart from restoring the adsorption capacity of the spent adsorption medium is the manipulation of the adsorption medium in the container of the drying system when a plant is being operated on a continuous basis. The operating personnel of the drying system must be in a position to be able to completely remove adsorption medium which has degraded too far from the container without having to subject the drying plant to prolonged down times.